Track teams set personal bests at invitational

The men’s and women’s track teams continued its success with numerous top times and season bests this past weekend at Moravian College’s Greyhound Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa.

In the distance events, junior Andrew Tedeschi finished second out of 41 runners in the 5,000-meter race. He clocked in at an impressive time of 15:07.26, with senior Tyler Grim following in fifth place with a personal best time of 15:24.76.

For the 1,500-meter race, junior Brandon Mazzarella crossed the finish line in 10th place with a time of 4:03.80.

In the 800-meter race, freshman Thomas Livecchi posted a quick time of 1:55.57, finishing 10th out of 68 opponents.

Freshman Noah Osterhus sprinted to a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter race, clocking in at 49.45 while his twin brother, freshman Nathan Osterhus, finished with a time of 50.73.

The 400-meter hurdles event was highlighted by seniors Laron Day and Mike Larkin. Day finished third with a time of 54.95, followed by Larkin in eighth with a time of 56.16.

“I’m happy with my 400-meter hurdles performance,” Day said. “I’m staying consistent and waiting for that breakthrough performance that I know I have in me. The ultimate goal is going to nationals and I’m just taking full advantage of the practices we have, eating right and ice bathing — ice bathing is key!”

On the field, sophomore Andrew McNutt landed in fourth place with his personal best of 14.14 meters on his final jump in the triple jump event.

Day, Noah and Nathan returned to the track, alongside freshman Kamal Williams, for the 4×400-meter event. The men topped all 28 teams to take first place with their season-best time of 3:19.09.

“The 4×400 is great — it’s a bunch of young guys and me that go out there to run hard and have fun,” Day said. “I have been on the 4×400 (team) since my freshman year and we have never ran this fast, so I’m excited to see what we can do in the next couple of meets.”

At the Princeton Outdoor Invitational at Princeton University from Wednesday, April 13, to Thursday, April 14, freshman Sebastian Camacho made his debut in the decathlon, placing sixth with 4,701 points.

The women found success on the track, as well. In the 400-meter hurdles, Kristen Randolph raced to a third place finish, clocking in at a personal-best time of 1:04.06. This places Randolph 16th nationally amongst Division III athletes in the 400-meter hurdles.

Senior Joy Spriggs put forth two outstanding season-bests in the sprinting events. She posted a time of 57.25 in the 400-meter race, placing third among 62 runners. She returned in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.13.

“I knew I did not get out as fast as I should have, so I knew I had to finish the race hard, which I did — it is always a fun race when you have to chase another competitor down and that is exactly what happened,” Spriggs said. “I hope to just keep on dropping seconds and being able to finish strong and get out strong as well.”

Spriggs and Randolph returned to the track with sophomores Amanda Cucarese and Emily Mead for the 4×400-meter relay. They finished in second place with a season best time of 3:58.77.

“I thought the women’s 4×400-meter relay did a really great job, considering the fact we all ran races right before the (relay),” Spriggs said. “We all were tired, but everyone pushed through and ran an amazing relay.”

For the distance events, sophomores Sarina Sokoloff and Nina Paranipe finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 10,000-meter run. Sokoloff timed in at 41:35.19 and Paranipe at 41:53.57.

Freshman Natalie Cooper improved her time in the 5,000-meter race with a personal-best time of 18:26.14. She finished in sixth place, followed by senior Marissa Lerit in seventh.

The 1,500-meter race had a top 10 finish from freshman Madeleine Tattory, who finished in 10th with a time of 4:51.30.

Senior Kayla Glynn had a personal best time of 12:06.75 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

In the field events, senior Courtney Paciulli placed fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 11.06 meters.

Earlier in the week, freshmen Abigail Rizzo and Danielle Scardino and sophomore Cara Brenn competed in the heptathlon at the Princeton Outdoor Invitation at Princeton University. They placed 11th, 12th and 13th with 2,724; 2,589 and 2,433 points, respectively.

“The team is doing amazing things, and I think everyone on the team is motivated to do the best they can and to add to the success of the team,” Spriggs said.

The Lions are also looking forward and believe that the strength of their team will continue into next season.

“We have a young team and we are strong now,” Day added. “So imagine how strong the team will be in the next few years.”